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Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a
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After School Snacks for Picky Eaters
{Sponsored by Cooking Light} #BTSatSafeway #ad

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This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ™ and Cooking Light , but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BTSatSafeway   http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO . In the spirit of the Back-to-School season, here's a pop quiz: True or False? 1. My child is hungry when they come home from school. 2. My child is a picky eater. 3. I prefer to feed my child foods that are minimally processed and have nutritional value. 4. I enjoy trying new recipes. If you answered True to any of the above, we have something in common. Shortly before school started last week, I had the opportunity to apply for a campaign to work with CookingLight Magazine on a Back-to-School post focusing on quick, easy and healthy recipes for picky eaters. Since I'm a longtime fan of CookingLight recipes, shop at Safeway , and have two very picky eaters starting school this month, I knew that this campaign would have real value for me and my readers. I
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Free Victorian Scrap -- Vintage Sailing Ships

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Hello friends!  It's been a busy back-to-school week here, but I didn't want you to think that I had sailed off into oblivion. Coming up this week, I have a huge giveaway, a great recipe for picky eaters (sponsored by Cooking Light) and will be guest posting on the Pfister blog.  In the meantime, I'm pleased to be sharing these two wonderful Victorian scrap images of clipper ships from my collection. Click on the image above to download from my PhotoBucket gallery. Click on the image above to download from my PhotoBucket gallery. And here's a full sheet PDF for card-making and collaging:  Click HERE for download.
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Recipe: Homemade Gourmet Ketchup
+ a Printable Vintage Catsup Label

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If someone had told me one year ago that I'd someday be singing the praises of ketchup, I would have told them to take their crystal ball in to be serviced.  Unless it's mixed up in a fry sauce or is on a burger, I've been perfectly content to live my life without that high fructose laden tomato condiment.  That all changed a few months ago, however, when my family stopped for a bite at a wonderful little cafe and charcuterie in Solvang, CA.   Served alongside my daughter's house-cured hotdog and crispy potato wedges at Succulent Cafe was a homemade ketchup like no other.  "Try this!" my husband insisted.  I threw him the " You know I don't eat ketchup {dorkpie} !" face.  " Seriously.  You have to try it, " he persisted.  He would not relent till I tried it.  I'm glad I gave in.  The homemade ketchup had a rich tomato flavor, not too sweet and the perfect tang.  The flavor was so complex that we found ourselves wanting t
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Wooden Peg Fairy Doll DIY
{for whimsical favors, cupcake toppers, and birthday candle holders}

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I've been delighted to see a resurgence in the popularity of peg dolls in DIY communities online, and decided it was high time to breathe some new life into this oldie but goodie from my first year of blogging.  The tutorial needed just a bit of TLC and a sprinkle of pixie dust... ...and these magical little cupcake toppers that double as party favors are ready to take flight once again! With simple wooden pegs, "silk" flowers and basic crafting supplies, you can create a whole garden of Flower Fairies as favors, cupcake toppers, and even birthday candle holders.     How to Make:  Wooden Peg Fairy Dolls (for favors, cupcake toppers, or birthday candle holders) Wood Game pieces (my source: Factory Direct Craft )   Bamboo skewers or wooden dowels, cut to 2” lengths Foam floral block for makeshift drying rack (optional) Drill Acrylic paints in the colors you want for skin,hair, eyes, cheeks and mouth An assortment of fine and medium pain
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Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go
{Book Review & #Giveaway}

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You're going to "flip" for this book! A stuffed toy can be a child's boon companion and greatest treasure. And often, a  stuffed toy hand-made by a loved one endures long after commercial toys have fallen out of favor. Flip Dolls are one such toy that goes beyond mere cuddliness to the realm of interactive, fascinating, and even magical.  Perhaps it's because, as a child, I was captivated by my friend's doll that flipped from Little Red Riding Hood to the Big Bad Wolf (a gift from her Nana).  It "may" have ended up in my backpack for a few minutes until my conscience caught up with me.  Just sayin'.   So, it was with childlike glee that I greeted the arrival of Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go by Laura Wilson (Lark Crafts, August 2013, ISBN 978-1-4547-0248-1).  Wilson's playful spirit is evident in this clever, inventive and charming book of interactive plush toys.  One can't help but smi
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Snickerdoodle Doughnut Gems {Gluten-free, baked mini doughnuts}

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  The doughnut madness continues here at Rook No. 17.  I think perhaps I'm trying to live out a childhood fantasy of living in a doughnut shop.  Although it's hard to imagine anyone objecting too strenuously to a proliferation of doughnuts,  I'd like to assure you, gentle reader, that there are other creative projects in the works (that do not lead to a sugar coma). In fact, this post was not originally on the editorial calendar.  Last night, the girls hit us up for a double-sleepover.  The giggles died down by around 2:00 a.m., and thankfully everyone slept in.  The sleepover zombies awoke with ravenous appetites, and much to my chagrin there was naught in the pantry but some baking essentials.  Feeling a surge of energy (or delirium brought on by lack of sleep), I decided to modify my Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Baked Doughnuts to make cinnamon-sugar dusted mini doughnuts.  I used the gluten-free flour from Trader Joe's again, and the results were spectac
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Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Baked Doughnuts {Gluten-Free Recipe}

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  It's huckleberry season here in the fog blanketed forests along the bay.  I've been picking the diminutive sweet/tart huckles since I was a child growing up here, so it's a tradition that I enjoy sharing with my girls.  Rainy days have been few and far between this year, so the pickings were slim, but between me, my girls and their two friends, we managed to harvest enough little berries to make a sweet treat. We re-use strawberry baskets lined with coffee filters when we go picking. Yes, the recipe does say "Blueberry" rather than "Huckleberry" because I don't expect everyone to have huckleberries growing in their back yard.  Besides, these moist and cakey little doughnut gems are too good to reserve for one small season of the year.  Small, wild blueberries can be found year-round.  I buy mine in the freezer section of Trader Joe's. These delicious chocolate doughnuts can be made gluten-free by swapping out the AP flour fo
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